Kevin Rose regrets dropping out of school too early

I think the real part of regret comes in the last quote: "Sometimes, I’ll be sitting around on a weekend and think, it’d be fun if I could just write up a software app really quickly."<p>I doubt it was the school that he misses. It was probably the free time to build whatever he wanted.

According to Professor Neal Roese's research, regrets related to education are the most common form of regret: <a href="http://psp.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/31/9/1273" rel="nofollow">http://psp.sagepub.com/cgi/content/abstract/31/9/1273</a><p>He also wrote a book about regret and counterfactual thinking titled "If Only": Delivering a reassuring, groundbreaking message, If Only describes two types of "counterfactuals," as these thoughts are known in psychology, and both "if only" thoughts can lead to a better understanding of yourself. One variety allows us to improve performance and learn from experience by comparing what we actually did to what might have been better. A second kind asks how things could have been worse, which makes you feel a whole lot better. Dr. Roese also reveals Americans' top regrets and shows you how to avoid them. And he shows how our brains erase regrets of actions (stuff you did that didn't work out) but let regrets of inaction linger. So his advice? Just do it.

Why can't he learn how to code?<p>Instead of Rock Climbing or getting blasted for DiggNation or going to tea houses/spots he could mess with coding until he "gets" it.

I started skipping school at 13, and left permanently at 14. At first it was just black and white: I hated school, I didn't want to go, but it soon turned into severe anxiety (that's another story.) I'm 17 now.<p>I wish I could say it's not affected me much, overall I think I'm pretty bright, so I don't fear I'm not going to be technically qualified for the career I want, however it's the paperwork I'm worried about; I have no exam results to speak of, and when I finally get over the anxiety, I'm not sure what I'm going to do. Collage? University? I have no idea where I stand, I just hope things don't go completely pete tong, and I'm still in the same situation at 30 or something, when I have far more responsibilities and cannot afford to complete my education. We'll see... :-)<p>Btw, this is a new account.

Somtimes I start to regret dropping out of education early, until I really think about it and realise that dropping out was the best thing I ever did. I have no student debt, a profitable start up, interesting work, and gave myself a better education than I would have received had I stayed in fulltime education. I was also very bored and unhappy with it by the time I left so I probably kept my sanity too. Yet I still sometimes find myself regreting it.

While Kevin's regret is pretty valid, I think the most interesting is definitely Gauri Nanda's - regretting going at the business totally alone.<p>I refrained from applying for YC funding in the past because I couldn't find a good partner, but now that I'm working on something with a good one I really notice the difference.

Sounds like a confusion of cause and effect, to me.